One That Came Back Read Online Free PDF

colored. “I was just being polite, Amanda.”
    Emily nearly laughed out loud. Well, this is interesting . Sam Dougherty had never liked another person’s cooking over his wife’s in his life. Even restaurant food paled in comparison to Amanda Dougherty’s culinary skill. This odd bit of tension over something so mundane was almost funny, it was so precious. Then Emily thought of something else.
    “Wait a sec,” Emily said, catching the whiff of a conspiracy. “Why’d you eat at Justin’s mom’s house?”
    Her father muttered something like ‘done in by meatloaf” and her mother blushed. They both went back to their food, stuffing large bites of meatloaf inside their mouths to save them from having to answer.
    Their actions were entirely visible. Emily bit back a smile and a head of annoyance. “Come on. Out with it.”
    “Oh dear.” Her mother covered her mouth and her eyes grew big. “We weren’t supposed to say.”
    “They wanted,” said her father gravely, “to wait for the Memorial Day picnic to make the announcement.” He acted as if Emily had uncovered some ancient secret no one was supposed to know.
    “Announcement? Are they…?”
    “Yes.” Her mom nodded. “They’re getting married.”
    An image of Luke and her in front of a priest saying vows popped into her head. Blinking heavily she pushed it away. “That’s wonderful.” And then another thought hit her. “Why didn’t Angela tell me herself?”
    “You’ve had a lot of things on your plate, dear.” Her mom patted her hand. “She didn’t want to—”
    “Oh, for heaven’s friggin’ sake! I’m not a broken doll! I have the capacity to be happy for my sister even if my life feels like shit.”
    “Emily!” Her mother’s mouth popped open and her eyebrows disappeared behind her curled bangs.
    “Language!” warned her father.
    “Language?” said Emily indignantly. “I’ve heard you use that word a few times, Dad. And while we’re at it, I’d appreciate it very much if you didn’t treat me like I was going to break at any second. I’m not the fuck-up you all think I am.”
    Her mother’s face turned bright red.
    “Emily!” Her father shouted and then muttered, “That stupid Wade boy.”
    “This is not about Luke!” She glared at her father.
    He stood and fumed. “You know what? I don’t give a pig’s eye what you think this is about! You act like you are all high and mighty and know better than anyone! You ignore our advice and when things go all wrong, you cry that you’ve been treated unkindly. You still don’t listen to your parents! And when the shit hits the fan, and it always does when you’re around Emily, you come crawling back here expecting us to be all understanding and forgiving. You put your mother through hell these past few days!”
    Emily opened her mouth to shoot a retort back at him and then pressed it firmly shut as she clenched her jaw. He always had to be so friggin’ unreasonable! He—
    “Hey, hey, what’s all this?”
    All eyes turned as Justin spoke from the entrance of the dining room. Still in shock, Emily realized Justin’s status in the family had changed. He felt comfortable walking into the house without knocking.
    “Sorry, son,” said her father. He stood and shook Justin’s hand. “Everything’s fine here. But unfortunately, the secret’s out. Can’t keep anything from a Dougherty woman. She’ll scope it out, even if your heart’s slowly stopping.” He shot a look of warning at Emily, as if daring her to say more.
    “That’s okay,” said Justin with a smile. “Angela’s been dying to tell Emily.” He coughed. “I mean, she’s been anxious to let you know.” Justin leaned toward his future father-in-law, a teasing smirk on his lips. “I understand there’s a lot of super-secret girl stuff that goes on before a wedding. Highly top secret.”
    Her father rolled his eyes. “I suppose.”
    “You look better Emily.” Justin took a seat opposite her at